“As You Like It” Discussion
Details
Minneapolis Central Library
(Downtown Minneapolis)
300 Nicollet Mall - Room N-202
Minneapolis, MN 55401
There is underground parking beneath the library, off 4th St. S., for about $5. Go in to the Library lobby and then in to the book stacks area. Take the elevator or stairs up to the 2nd floor, then go all the way to the left.
This is a discussion about the play, not a reading or showing of it.
We hope to have a special guest from the Ten Thousand Things’s production of As You Like It. (Being performed Sept. 30 - Nov. 8, 2026)
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY (from the Folger Library)
• In As You Like It, witty words and romance play out against the disputes of divided pairs of brothers. Orlando’s older brother, Oliver, treats him badly and refuses him his small inheritance from their father’s estate; Oliver schemes instead to have Orlando die in a wrestling match. Meanwhile, Duke Frederick has forced his older brother, Duke Senior, into exile in the Forest of Arden.
• Duke Senior’s daughter, Rosalind, and Duke Frederick’s daughter, Celia, meet the victorious Orlando at the wrestling match; Orlando and Rosalind fall in love. Banished by her uncle, Rosalind assumes a male identity and leaves with Celia and their fool, Touchstone. Orlando flees Oliver’s murderous plots.
• In the Forest of Arden, Rosalind, in her male disguise, forms a teasing friendship with Orlando. Oliver, searching for Orlando, reforms after Orlando saves his life. Rosalind reveals her identity, triggering several weddings, including her own with Orlando and Celia’s with Oliver. Duke Frederick restores the dukedom to Duke Senior, who leaves the forest with his followers.
FAMOUS QUOTES FROM THE PLAY
• Folger Library
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
FREE VIDEOS - FULL PLAY (YOUTUBE)
• Corinth Films (Laurence Olivier, Elisabeth Bergner) (1936)
• Rice University (2019)
FREE VIDEOS - OTHER (YOUTUBE)
• Tim Nance: Shakespeare’s As You Like It Discussion and Summary
• Animated Shakespeare - As You Like It
ARTICLES
• Wikipedia: As You Like It
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Overview
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Full Play Summary
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Full Play Analysis
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Themes
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Motifs
• SparkNotes: As You Like It - Symbols
• A Modern Perspective: As You Like It by Susan Snyder
• Thrice welcome: The power of three in As You Like It by Austin Tichenor
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It
• Five things to look for when you watch As You Like It by Ben Lauer
• Dramaturg’s Notes: As You Like It by Michele Osherow
• Further Reading: As You Like It
PODCASTS
• Approaching Shakespeare (Emma Smith): As You Like It
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Act 1
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Act 2
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Act 3
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Act 4
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Act 5
• The Play’s the Thing: As You Like It, Bonus Episode
LOCAL LIVE PERFORMANCES OF AS YOU LIKE IT
• Ten Thousand Things, Various locations in the Twin Cities (Sept. 30 - Nov. 8, 2026)
GENERAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• The Folger Shakespeare Library has free and paid (includes notes) downloadable texts of all of Shakespeare’s plays.
• The Folger Library: Shakespeare Documented has copies of original documents from Shakespeare’s time.
• No Sweat Shakespeare
• PlayShakespeare: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Research
• Podcast: “Approaching Shakespeare”
• Podcast: “Shakespeare Unlimited” Play by Play
• Play On Podcasts
• SparkNotes 101: Shakespeare [Excellent synopses of all the plays.]
• Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber [Excellent analysis of all the plays.] Kindle edition only $5.99!
• Prima Facie: An End to Doubt: Shakespeare’s Authorship is a Fact
FACEBOOK PAGES
• The Official William Shakespeare Page
• Shakespeare Study Group
• William Shakespeare: His Works and His World
APP
• Shakespeare App
BEST SHAKESPEARE USED BOOK SELECTIONS IN THE TWIN CITIES
• Midway Books, St. Paul
• The Book House, Minneapolis
• James & Mary Laurie Booksellers, Minneapolis
• Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis
• Half Price Books